Muhembo - Knowledge

353:. It may be presumed that the settlement during this time was modest and relatively impoverished by historical standards until more thorough excavations are conducted. Except for the lowest trinkets, local pottery was typically utilised instead of imported luxury goods from other countries and imported vessels. maintaining a custom from a bygone era. Some tasks required the use of implements made of flaked stone. The locals lived off the produce from their farms and plantations, along with some seafood. In essence, the archaeological evidence points to a style of life focused on local issues with few interactions to the outside world. What is known about Muhembo (the old Pangani) contrasts sharply with the material culture of the affluent minority that resided in stone and plaster towns elsewhere on the East African coast. 497: 27: 425:

two fist-sized "biscuits" of slag at a location about 150 metres northeast of the ruins. To the north, Muhembo is bounded by a sizable murram pit. Since the 1970s, this coral borrow pit has produced road building materials, destroying a large portion of the site's northern section in the process, most likely including the location of Gramly's (1981) excavation trench, which was dug in the late 1970s. The surface of the disturbed area is covered in Post-Swahili ceramics and Swahili-associated remnants. The northern edge of the property is flanked by a gravel road that runs between

50: 43: 1981: 1448: 72: 472:), the inhabitants of the site were reliant on shellfish and other aquatic remains. By Post-Swahili times, diets may have been under stress (for instance, teeth hypoplasia). It emerges from the unearthed units that the inhabitants' meals mostly consisted of terrestrial and avian animals. Swahili open bowls with elaborate decorations may have been used in ceremonies, as seen at locations on 493:

researched additional colonial sites, such as a German fort (on the promontory south of the river), European cemeteries, and infrastructure from colonial plantations, as well as other sections of the bay that were previously examined. However, he discovered Swahili ceramics and identified Muhembo as a substandard, regionally oriented complex from the fourteenth century.

446:. Limited foreign ceramics and (mainly drawn) glass beads are present with Swahili and Post-Swahili pottery. The upper layers of excavation units 1 and 2 show some degree of overlap between Swahili and Post-Swahili artefacts. Given that the two traditions share several traits, such as ticks along vessel carinations, this might be expected. 416:

Outside and immediately northeast of the mosque, on the same low mound, are coral walls that appear to be residential buildings. Coral fragments are also found in other locations on the site, however it is unclear if these are wall fragments or other relics that could date to a time after the mosque.

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In the immediate neighbourhood of the ruins, there are a few plate fragments of blue-green Islamic monochrome (dating from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century), coiled and drawn glass beads, and animal remains that are found in low densities among the palm trees and along a pathway. We found

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Muhembo has a view of both the Indian Ocean and an old river channel. The coralline promontory at the outlying waterfront (directly east) and the slope on which Muhembo is situated seem to shield it from the harshest monsoon winds. Muhembo's surface is devoid of obstruction-causing flora, with the

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Gramly, carried out reconnaissance around Pangani Bay. He excavated a small test trench at Muhembo, a Swahili site, and wrote about his findings in a paper that was later published. From this trench, he extracted pottery, animal remains, and a few foreign artefacts, including glass beads. He also

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Residents of coastal areas were drawn to larger settlements like Muhembo after 1550 C.E. This explanation explains why shellfish eating declined at sites near the Pangani River (such as Kumbamtoni and Site 52a), whereas increased intake of shellfish (and a decline in species variety) occurred at

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A minor portion of the entire assemblage found at Muhembo is made up of beads and foreign ceramics. Less than 1.5% (n = 51) of the pottery that were excavated were foreign ceramics. There are ten types present there. Islamic monochromes with blue-green glaze make up five of these. Three further

361:, including pieces from Asia and the interior of Africa, are widely distributed nearby and are most likely from the middle to late middle of the second millennium C.E. The population decreased and/or scattered after 1550 CE (and up until 1750 CE), possibly in response to the 374:. As a result, patterns in the consumption of shellfish over the past 750 years suggest that many non-Muslim Africans who had been living in the countryside between 1250 and 1550 C.E. eventually moved to larger locations' non-monumental areas during the Post-Swahili era. 370:

larger sites with massive remains (such as Muhembo). The increase in shellfish consumption at big sites (Muhembo, excavation units 1 and 2; Tongoni, excavation units 2 and 3) was especially noticeable outside of coral structures. Shellfish are off-limits to orthodox

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celadon represents the latter two examples. All of the recognisable pottery varieties may be found in pieces that are shaped like plates, open bowls, or even hemispherical bowls (the latter are Chinese) and date from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century.

476:. There are architectural remnants, brackish water fish and snail remains, an ivory artefact, a few chert and petrified wood artefacts, local and imported beads and ceramics, a ceramic bead grinder, and slag as proof of production and exchange at Muhembo. 441:

Together, these archaeological artefacts show that Muhembo was inhabited from the fourteenth/fifteenth to the seventeenth/eighteenth centuries. This classification is supported by both the mosque type and Gramly's (1981) single radiocarbon date of

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A settlement hierarchy and more connection emerged between 1250 and 1450 C.E. A mosque with a "northern" aesthetic emerged at Muhembo at this time, heralding a future change in elite cultural affiliations to the northern coast. Strange, foreign

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Swahili Ware, subsequent indigenous ceramics, animal remains, imported ceramics (Islamic monochromes), and drawn glass beads are all on display on the site's surface. Beginning in the 1970s, the northern portion of the site was

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James de Vere Allen. “Swahili Culture and the Nature of East Coast Settlement.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies, vol. 14, no. 2, Boston University African Studies Center, 1981, pp. 306–34,

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and/or internal conflicts and changes. The increased number of sites and various signs of contact show that communities living at the bay grew once more in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

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that are thought to date from the seventeenth to nineteenth century. Surface examinations revealed that the mound's contents are made up of wall and roof fall. Locals consider this area to be a

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by a murram pit dug to supply coral gravel for contemporary road development. The tombs at Bweni Ndogo (west of Bweni), which are south of the river, were built at the same time as Muhembo.

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ruins (and a lack of them in excavation units 3 and 4). Remains found beside the murram pit also suggest occupation at a time comparable to somewhat earlier than the project excavations.

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Swahili ruins that have yet to be excavated since 1981. Other minor sites in the viciinity of Muhembo include; Gombero, Mtakani, Muhembo, Mnyongeni, and Kumbamtoni.

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The upper site stratum may have been disturbed due to the sloping nature of the site and local coconut producers. Daub clusters suggest the inhabitants lived in

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Rhodes, Daniel T. "History, Materialization, and Presentation of Slavery in Tanzania." Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage 7.2 (2018): 165-191.

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